Nicholas Betley

The
lab is interested in understanding how the brain processes
information from the external world to facilitate appropriate behavioral
responses that are necessary for survival. We
study robust and essential behaviors such as feeding and drinking that
are necessary for survival since the neural circuits that influence
these behaviors are likely to be conserved.

Interacting
with the environment to satisfy needs requires complex and flexible
behavioral responses. The probability of an animal engaging in adaptive
behaviors to resolve these survival needs is influenced by activity in
neural circuits that respond to both internal cues and changes in the
external environment. Dysfunction in these networks leads to improper
decisions and has consequences for human health. Decoding the neural
basis of survival behaviors and the circuitry that prioritizes signals
of need will increase our understanding of how the brain guides behavior
in a complex environment.

In our experiments, we are pursuing two complementary tracks:

One
goal is to better understand how information coding hunger is
integrated in the brain and how the motivated state of energy deficit
modulates behavioral responses aimed at obtaining food. Starvation
sensitive neurons (AGRP neurons) that are active during hunger provide a
convenient entry point into the neural circuitry of feeding behavior.
Analogous to the way sensory neurons responding to odorant or light have
served as an entry point to understanding how the brain processes
olfactory or visual information, we are exploring how nutrient-sensing
neurons signal the rest of the brain to influence consumption of food.

In
addition, we are exploring the question of how internal sensory cues
such as hunger induce cognitive changes that are known to influence the
perception of and response to other survival stimuli such as fear, pain,
sex and sleep. The balance between these activities is finely tuned and
shifting this equilibrium underlies pathologies including obesity,
anxiety and neuropathic pain. Conceptually, understanding how different
survival needs interact provides the framework for understanding how the
brain processes conflicting stimuli to guide behavior.